MAPPING SPEECH OUTPUT & PERCEPTUAL CAPACITY
USING NON-LINEAR PHONOLOGY
Kate Mairs Queen’s University, Belfast
Linear Phonology
The presentation of a sequence of sounds, composed of simultaneously
occurring distinctive features in a single row.
asked → ɑskt
/d/ → [t] k__#
Non-Linear Phonology
Phonological phenomena do not operate in a single linear sequence of segments.
Feature GeometryGovernment Phonology
Sonority
NB: Category labels
Government Phonology
U
R
A
I
h
ʔ
alveolar
labial
aperiodic
energy
pharyngeal / uvular
coronal
occluded
/f/ → [s] / #l
Government Phonology
Phonemes
fl slLabiodent
al Fricative
f
Alveolar Lateral Approxima
nt l
Alveolar Fricative
s
Alveolar Lateral Approxima
nt l
Primes
hAperiodic
ULabial
RCoronal
ʔOccluded
Sonority
Oral Stops Fricatives Nasals
Liquids
Semivowels
VowelsVoicele
ssVoiced
Voiceless
Voiced
High Low
p b f v m
t d θ ð n j i a
k g s z ŋ l r w u ɑ
Geigerich’s Sonority Scale LOW HIGH
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Researcher Allocated Sonority Score
Why does it matter?
Clinical settings Importance of perceptive system Underlying issues
Research settings Links between systems Working memory & speech acquisition